Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio had conducted an extremely thorough investigation of the entertainment district, and they understood Warabihime's current situation very well.
The current Warabihime could be called the top courtesan of Yoshiwara, as well as Kyogoku House's greatest source of profit. She was the person the brothel madam valued most.
For an ordinary person, even getting to meet Warabihime once was extremely difficult.
She even had exceedingly harsh requirements.
If one was not noble, she would not meet them.
If one was ugly, she would not meet them.
If one had no talent, she would not meet them.
...
After hearing Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio's investigation into Warabihime, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Kyojuro Rengoku, and the others were all rather stunned.
If Warabihime were truly only a courtesan, then this would not be much of an issue. But her true identity was not merely that of a courtesan. She was also a demon, a demon who could not bathe beneath the sunlight.
A demon who could only hide in darkness during the day.
For a demon who could only hide in shadowed gutters by day to act so high-profile—was she truly not afraid of exposing her identity?
After all, although demons were powerful, their weakness was fatal. It was very easy to target them once that weakness was known.
However, thinking about it carefully, if not for the intelligence provided by Mr. Soma, and if they had not questioned Warabihime's identity from the beginning, who would believe that such a dazzling, high-profile courtesan was actually a demon?
"Can we still find a way to expose her to sunlight during the day?"
Kyojuro Rengoku spoke at that moment. "But if we cannot use explosives, it will not be easy to drag her out into the sunlight while it is still daytime."
The others also frowned. In such a prosperous commercial center, buildings were densely packed together, and with the complex network of underground waterways, there were many dark places where sunlight could not reach during the day.
Moreover, this place was not a remote location like the Eternal Paradise Faith, where explosives could be used without restraint.
There were too many restrictions.
If possible, everyone would still prefer to make this Upper Rank demon bathe beneath the sunlight. That way, they could avoid much of the danger. Although doing so felt somewhat underhanded, there was no need to worry about such things when dealing with demons.
"If we can find where she hides during the day, then we should be able to target her."
Kanae Kocho spoke at that moment, just as they had done when dealing with Doma.
Involuntarily, everyone's gazes fell on Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio.
Facing everyone's expectant looks, the three women appeared somewhat embarrassed. After a brief hesitation, Hinatsuru spoke.
"We also wanted to determine where Warabihime hides during the day. But every time dawn approaches, she disappears outright. During the day, there is no way to find any trace of her at all."
"Not only that, the place where she disappears is different each time. It is impossible to use that to guess where she hides during the day." Suma also spoke at that moment.
Clearly, although Warabihime had such an obvious identity as a courtesan, she was still cautious enough that finding a weakness during the day would not be easy.
Of course, if they had enough time to investigate further, it should still be possible to find where Warabihime hid during the day.
But with the death of Upper Rank Two, Doma, there was no guarantee that news would not spread.
After all, Muzan Kibutsuji possessed the ability to remotely share the senses of the demons under his command. It was very possible that Muzan had discovered Doma died while bathed in sunlight.
If Muzan warned his subordinates, would Warabihime abandon her identity as a courtesan and hide?
At that point, the issue would no longer be making the demon bathe beneath the sunlight during the day, but whether they could find any trace of Warabihime at all.
Everyone frowned in thought, but clearly, there was no particularly good solution.
Perhaps because the impression Soma had always given them made everyone feel that he was not someone who liked taking risks, and that he did not favor the Demon Slayer Corps' long-standing habit of clashing head-on with demons.
But in truth, this was not because the Demon Slayer Corps did not want to hunt demons easily during the day. Rather, by now, finding demons during daylight had become far too difficult.
Just like when they found Doma during the day last time—in truth, for the Demon Slayer Corps, that was basically a rare opportunity that could only be encountered by chance.
Very few demons were as high-profile as Doma, who had even served as the Founder of the Eternal Paradise Faith.
Involuntarily, everyone's gazes fell on Soma.
If he had not devoured Doma, Soma naturally would not have been willing to take such a risk. Ordinary Hashira were basically no match for Upper Rank demons, even if the opponent was the weakest, Upper Rank Six.
But now, after devouring Doma and sparring with Gyomei Himejima, Soma had a rough grasp of his own strength.
As the strongest Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Gyomei Himejima's strength was undoubtedly the greatest. If he awakened the Demon Slayer Mark and a Bright Red Nichirin weapon, he could even contend for a time with Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
In other words, Gyomei Himejima had the ability to fight against the upper three ranks, while against the lower three Upper Ranks, he would basically crush them.
Since Soma's current strength was already enough to overwhelmingly suppress Upper Rank Six, enough to deal with Warabihime at night, then there was no need to insist on dragging Warabihime into the sunlight.
This was different from the situation with Doma, Upper Rank Two.
"In that case, I will go meet Warabihime at night as a guest." Soma spoke.
When everyone heard this, they were somewhat surprised. After all, the impression Soma had always given them was one of caution and stability. He had rarely hunted demons personally, and at least until now, they had almost never seen him face a demon directly.
This would probably be the first time Soma faced a powerful demon alone.
"I'll go instead." Sanemi Shinazugawa stepped forward.
Soma looked at Sanemi Shinazugawa's face, then shook his head. With Warabihime's requirements for meeting guests, Sanemi did not even meet the most basic condition, since he had scars on his face.
Seeing this, Sanemi Shinazugawa felt very wounded.
Kanae Kocho seemed eager to try as well, but clearly, her identity as a woman made her unsuitable.
"I should be able to do it." Kyojuro Rengoku raised his sharp brows.
It had to be said that Kyojuro Rengoku was quite handsome. In truth, he was rather suitable for meeting Warabihime.
"Mr. Rengoku's strength is still a little lacking." Soma shook his head.
Kyojuro Rengoku was somewhat unconvinced, but he also knew how formidable Upper Rank demons were. After all, he had briefly crossed blades with Doma at the Eternal Paradise Faith, and he had been completely outmatched.
"Namu Amida Butsu."
Gyomei Himejima pressed his palms together. "My strength should be sufficient. Then shall I go?"
As the strongest Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Gyomei Himejima's strength was undoubtedly enough. Moreover, if one truly spoke of appearance, Gyomei Himejima was not ugly. He simply leaned more toward a rugged, masculine look.
But…
Everyone almost unanimously shook their heads, their eyes drifting toward Gyomei Himejima's closely shaved head.
"A man looking like that visiting the pleasure district would probably be inappropriate." Soma shook his head.
Gyomei Himejima touched his closely shaved head and fell silent for a moment.
After all was said and done, the only two people who could meet Warabihime at night as guests were Soma and Kyojuro Rengoku. If this had been before, Kyojuro Rengoku probably would have insisted on going himself. But Soma had defeated Gyomei Himejima in their spar, and in terms of strength, Kyojuro Rengoku knew he was inferior to Soma.
...
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